The ones he bought as a kid may have gone up in value and should be reported on Schedule D as a capital gain.  The ones he bought more recently may have resulted in a loss, which is not deductible because they are personal items, not investments.  (If they had been investments, he would have been keeping better records.) 

EDITED:  I posted this before seeing your reference to a spreadsheet.  So which is it?  He doesn't know how much of a loss he has, or he has exact records?  And the problem is that with a bulk sale, he didn't break down the proceeds per item.